Biotechnology Throughout History - Food Preservation Research one type of biotechnology and give a detailed report on two types commonly used today.

Essay by JinsueHigh School, 10th gradeA-, April 2008

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Food is the key to our survival. Without food, we would simply die; because food is so important, food preservation has been one of the oldest technologies used by human beings. New techniques and ideas have been thought up and carried out throughout the years so that we can keep our food better for longer. Nowadays, some of the well known ways to preserve our food include:Refrigerating and freezingDryingSmokingCanning and bottlingSaltingAll these methods are divided into two groups; physical and chemical. Physical preservation involves methods which result in killing off the micro-organisms present. This also includes stopping their growth for long enough to allow the food to be safely consumed. Chemical preservation aims to do the same thing but these preservatives work either as direct microbial poisons or by reducing the pH to a level of acidity.

There have been many methods developed to help preserve our food better. A common method used many years ago and today is refrigerating and/or freezing.

Almost every house hold in Australia and throughout the world owns a refrigerator. Refrigerators are one of the most sufficient forms of food preserving. Refrigerators are designed to slow down the process of bacterial activity so that our food can be kept longer. Freezers however, are designed to completely or almost stop the whole cycle of bacteria activity. By freezing food, bacteria are completely inactive therefore resulting in us preserving our food for even longer than normal.

All food contains cells; and these cells have some sort of water in them. Because food has a lot of water in it, it takes a long time to freeze. Completely freezing food may take temperatures down to minus five degrees Celsius. If food takes a long time to freeze, some of the texture and taste of the food won't be...